Monday, July 31, 2006

(Scroll down for update) Where’s Iggy? seems to have replaced Where's Waldo? as one of the more popular past times in the Liberal blogsphere over the past week or two. Rumours abound, but I can report Michael Ignatieff should now be back in the country.

Those watching the candidate’s online calendar will know he was scheduled to be in Comox, British Columbia today for a get together with local Liberals in Vancouver Island North. That’s my old stomping grounds, so I was interested to hear how the event went, and hoped some of the soap opera rumours swirling around might be put to rest.

Turns out Ignatieff wasn’t there, but I think with good reason. David Hurford, his Western co-chair, explained to the 30 Liberals (good Fed Lib crowd for the Comox Valley) that had gathered to meet Ignatieff that he and his wife Zsusannah have been in Budapest visiting her very ill mother and father. Their original flight back to Canada was cancelled, leaving them scrambling to book another. The next flight they could get didn’t get them into Toronto until Sunday night, so they should be in the country by now, but alas, couldn’t make the Comox gathering.

A make-up visit has been scheduled for August 20th, just before the Liberal caucus meeting in Vancouver, and the people that had turned out were very understanding of the situation and appreciative that Hurford had come to keep the date.

I think the communications around Ignatieff’s time away could have been handled better by his campaign but I firmly believe, as I think those who had hoped to meet him Sunday did too, that family must always trump politics. He has been where he has needed to be, and I won’t fault him for that. In fact, it’s a bit refreshing for a politician to say I’m taking care of family right now, no press releases, no conference calls, family comes first.

I hope that those who dislike Ignatieff will confine their criticisms to the policy arena. Going after a man for putting family first won’t get you very far in my books, and I don’t think I’m the only one that feels that way.

UPDATE: I'm told Michael has phoned the hosts to apologize for his absence from the event yesterday. So, we learn that a) He is now somewhere with phone access, and b) He's a classy guy.

To be taking care of family from across the ocean would be extremely difficult....I had very sick parents (at the same time) and quite frankly the doctor didn't know which one I'd lose first - they died a year apart. This was at home and trying to visit both in different hospitals until we got them into one hospital and work obligations made me almost go over the edge. I was going on 3 to 4 hours sleep until I was so exhausted I came down really ill myself. I'm not looking for sympathy here, just trying to point out how difficult it would be in 2 different countries. He's not PM, no one is really paying attention to the Liberal race right so to take advantage of a slow time isn't out of line.

It's so easy to be judge and jury when you don't know all the details of the situation.

It's funny. I like Dryden. But each time I hear from supporters like Shoshana, I have to wonder about his judgement. Is his team sending her out to be this negative? Have they specifically told her: say only negative things and only about Ignatieff; whatever you do, don't talk policy and don't ever ever saying anything positive about Ken because this race has to be about who can be the nastiest and most constantly on the attack.

Thanks for the post Jeff. With supporters like you, Dion will go far and the Liberals will as well.

Cerberus you know full well that I don't work for Drydens campaign so stop spreading garbage as a means to dflect from legitimate criticism about the team that you do organize and work for and the candidate who is missing without explaination. Like I've said before keep criticising me because you have no legitimate defence of your campaigns lies and candidates absence.

I don't know why your guy is MiA. you know I don't work for Dryden. One more lie from your organization is not surprising.

Oh, S.B., you are so cute when you get all huffy and indignant about being caught out again. Priceless.

Still waiting for you to say anything, anything at all, just a single short post, about something positive. Preferably about why you support Dryden but really, I'd settle for a single positive post about anything.

This excuse is garbage. One of his prominent orgaizers was vacationing in the U.S. this weekend knowing full well Iggy wasn't making it anywhere.

Now its his mother and father in law. Story gets better all the time.

This man will beat the conservatives when there is only one international flight out of Bhudapest a day. There is no phone service in all of Hungary and his handlers stop lieing to Liberals.

There is no reason for him to have cancelled engagements and been incomunicado for a month, unless he has no regard for Liberals or he wasn't up to it.

No one's mother and father in law necessitate this disregard. Couldn't he have hired a nurse and let his wife care for her parents after staying a few days? Of course he could have. This whole story is a line of crap. I'm sure they are old, but no phone service, no hospital care, nor nurses, 24/7 attendance needed for both of them, doubtful to say the least.

Missed plane. garbage when a key campaign organizer is in the states knowing you aren't coming back.

I agree with Jeff. Michael Ignatieff is NOT Prime Minister, or Leader of the Opposition. He does not owe us his presence, or have to tell us where he is all the time, so trying to make political points off his absence is a bit silly. Also, it could backfire severely.

Cfax radio in Victoria only recieved a half hour notice of Iggy's cancellation. They called his campaign "incompetent" on the air. This and the accusations of mixed messages from his campaign - some said he was in Europe, others said he was in Toronto. Either way, there is no Iggy on the biggest middle east crisis in years, no Iggy in BC. No Iggy no cry!

Yep and Cerberus just keeps criticising me. Why would anyone be understanding when they are obviously being lied to. If you don't know where someone is and they don'thave phone or internet communications, how do you shedule events for them and say they will be in Toronto 20 minutes later. They are obviously in communication with him. He obviously has a phone and he is probably in Toronto and has been for several days.

A tad more understanding. yes, we are because all of us have had cancelled flight stories, all of us have had family issues that have taken us out of the picture for periods of time. Surprisingly we are a global community whith family members living all over this planet.

I feel embarrassed being of the same sex as Shoshana with her comment "No one's mother and father in law necessitate this disregard. Couldn't he have hired a nurse and let his wife care for her parents after staying a few days?"

She who pontificates broadly about the role of women in politics, damned hard if in the same light she sees it as a womens sole responsiblity to nurture and care for elderly parents.

Reading all the back biting makes me wonder why on earth would any man/woman even want to be bothered with politics. Then I answer myself with "because we care".Which reminds me to that all the Candidates care.

I'm not going to say anything... I hope that health issues are improving and offer my prayers.There is something serious here or else it would have been easily 'splained away by the candidate in person, on the phone or somewhere. Because i was partially to blame on what 'appeared to be' a bad rumour over at the excellent dynamitepaper site, I'll say no more.Let's hope everythings fine and just being run crappily.

It sounds to me like you liberals have got yourself a group of goofs once again. I cannot imagine any one of those bozo's ever being PM. My family was a big supporter of the libs forever (longer than I like to admit) and not one of them would give one penny to any of that bunch. Sorry guys. You need money to have an election. You need an election to be PM Bon Chance